57. Infinity Castle

Hana's legs moved as fast as they could towards the Ubuyashiki estate. She ran alongside Giyuu and Tanjiro.

She forced herself to run even faster as anxiety built in her chest. Every second of it felt like an hour.

"We have to get there fast!" Tanjiro shouted, his face tight with panic.

"I know!" Hana replied, her breath coming in short gasps.

But before anyone could reach the building, a deafening roar split the air.

The Ubuyashiki estate exploded.
A massive wall of heat and light threw them back. Burning fire was everywhere. Pieces of wood and paper fluttered through the air.

Hana stopped in her tracks, her boots skidding on the dirt. She gasped as a cold shiver rushed through her entire body. Her eyes widened in horror, and she pressed her palm against her mouth to stifle a scream.

"No... no, no, no," Hana whispered. She shook her head rapidly, refusing to believe what she saw.

She thought of Kagaya Ubuyashiki the Master with his gentle voice and the sightless eyes that somehow saw more than anyone else. She thought of Lady Amane, his wife, who had greeted them with such kindness. They had been the heart of the Corps, the parents to a family of orphans and broken warriors.

Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision, but she didn't stop. She ran forward again, her sadness turning into a boiling rage. The smell of smoke and blood and flesh filled the air.

"It's Muzan! Muzan Kibutsuji!" Gyomei shouted. The Stone Hashira was already standing where the estate once was, his huge frame silhouetted against the flames. "This guy won't die even if you cut his head off!"

Hana saw him then. Standing in the middle of the wreckage was the creature with pale skin and cold, murderous eyes. It was the monster who had caused all their suffering.

"You monster!" Hana screamed, drawing her sword.

Every Hashira, along with Hana and Tanjiro, moved at once. They all used their breathing techniques to approach the demon. The air hummed with the power of their combined styles.

"Hinokami Kagura... Flame Dance!" Hana cried out, her blade erupting in a circle of fire.

She lunged forward, her own blade ready to strike. But before anyone could attack him, a strange, metallic sound rang out.

The floor beneath them opened up into a dark, endless passage. Hana felt the stomach-turning sensation of weightlessness as everyone began falling through the floor, away from Muzan.

"What is this?!" Hana yelled, flailing her arms as she plummeted into the darkness.

Looking up, she saw Muzan standing at the corner. A disgusting grin was on his face as he mocked them. He looked down at them like they were bugs.

"You seriously thought you could corner me?!" Muzan's voice boomed, echoing through the strange space. "You're all going to hell now! You pathetic demon slayer pests!! I'm slaughtering you all tonight!"

Hana felt a surge of defiance. Even as she fell, she pointed her sword up at him.

"You're going to hell, Muzan, you bastard!" she shouted back, her voice echoing against the shifting walls of the castle.

"You're not getting away!" Tanjiro shouted beside her, his eyes burning with determination. "We'll defeat you for sure!"

The world turned upside down. Hana saw rooms moving, stairs folding, and doors sliding in directions that made no sense.

What is this place..!! I can't tell left from right here... Was this place created by a demon's blood technique?? ​Hana looked down she was falling into the endless path. the wind whipped past her, she was tumbling, her center of gravity completely gone as she spun through the void of the infinity castle.

​She turned and twisted, her limbs flailing against the sudden drops and shifting gravity. The air pressure was suffocating, pushing against her lungs as she plummeted deeper into the abyss.

​My posture's bad...!! I can't brace myself either since the air pressure is too strong!! I'm going to hit-

​"Hana!" A strong hand grabbed her arm. Giyuu pulled her up before she could fall deeper. He held her steady until she regained her balance. Beside them, Tanjiro landed in a crouch, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.

"Stay together!" Giyuu's voice called out from the dark, but the shifting rooms were already pulling them apart.

"Giyuu-san..." she muttered. "Thank you."

"Are you alright?" Giyuu asked. His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp, scanning the shadows.

"I'm okay," Hana said, drawing her own blade. "Where are we?"

They were in a wide, wooden hallway that seemed to stretch forever. The architecture was impossible. Some doors were on the floor, and some stairs led straight into the ceiling.

"I can smell them. There are hundreds of them." Tanjiro said, his nose twitching.

He was right. From the shadows at the end of the hall, several demons began to crawl out. They had pale skin and jagged teeth, and they looked hungry. They let out low growls as they started approaching the trio.

"Stay focused," Giyuu warned.

In a second, Tanjiro moved."Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"

He was a blur of motion. With a single, clean strike, he slashed the first demon's head off. The body slumped to the floor, already beginning to turn into ash.
Just then, several more demons burst through a sliding door right next to Tanjiro. They leaped through the air with their claws extended.

Beside him, Giyuu and Hana moved in perfect sync. They used two different forms of Water Breathing to help behead the rest of the pack. The sound of steel cutting through flesh filled the hallway. Within a second, the demons were already disintegrating into nothingness.
Silence returned to the hallway, broken only by the sound of their heavy breathing.

"Let's move," Giyuu said. He didn't waste any time looking at the ashes.

Hana and Tanjiro followed right after him. They ran down the long corridors, jumping over gaps where the floor had been removed. Every time a biwa string was plucked in the distance, the castle shifted again. Walls moved like sliding puzzles, trying to separate them.

"We have to find Muzan," Tanjiro said as they ran. "And we have to find the others."

"We will," Hana promised. She felt a strange weight in her chest. The air in this place felt evil, like it was trying to choke them.

Just then, a crow flew through a small opening in the ceiling. It circled above them, its wings flapping loudly in the quiet hall. A small piece of paper was stuck to its chest, with a strange eye painted on it in dark ink.

"Caww! Cawww!" the crow screamed. Its voice was harsh and full of sorrow. "Dead! Shinobu Kocho is dead! She died after a confrontation with Upper Moon Two!"

Hana stopped. Her legs felt like they had turned to lead. The world seemed to tilt on its axis.

"No," she whispered. "This can't be right."

Hana felt her heart break. Images of Shinobu flashed through her mind. She remembered the way Shinobu always smiled, even when she was angry, never letting her kindness slip. She remembered every moment at the Butterfly Mansion and the way Shinobu had always been there to look after her.

Tears welled up in Hana's eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they were too heavy. She let a few tears drop, splashing onto the wooden floor. Her shoulders shook as the reality of the war hit her all over again. They were losing people. They were losing friends.
Tanjiro looked just as devastated. He gripped his sword so hard his hand shook.

Hana felt a hand grab hers. She looked up and saw Giyuu. He didn't say a word, but he gave her a soft, firm nod. We have to keep going. We have to honor her by winning.

Hana wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and squeezed Giyuu's hand back. She took a shaky breath and stood tall.

"I'm sorry," Hana said, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm okay now. Let's go."

Shinobu-san..we'll win for sure. I'm sure... we will. Hana thought, determination clutching her heart.

They continued running into the heart of the castle. The grief was still there, a sharp pain in her chest, but she used it. She turned that sadness into a cold, hard determination.

Suddenly the ground beneath trembled with a violent, force.

"What is this tremor?!" Giyuu exclaimed, digging his heels into the wood to stay upright.

"Hana! Giyuu-san!" Tanjiro shouted, his eyes darting toward the ceiling.

Hana looked around frantically. Above them, a loud crack echoed through the hall. The heavy wooden beams began to splinter. Dust and debris rained down on them.

"From above! Stay back, Tanjiro!!" Hana cried out. She lunged forward, pushing Tanjiro out of the way just as a figure smashed through the ceiling.

A cloud of dust settled, revealing a man with pink hair and skin covered in dark, branching tattoos. His eyes glowed with the words Upper Rank Three. It was Akaza.